One of the members of our Learning Community had been dutifully publishing content for awhile, and people were responding! Making great comments publicly and in emails, grateful for the care and support she had been sending.
But none were becoming clients.
She mentioned this to us on a group coaching call, and she was wondering how long to wait before the content she was creating would turn into clients.
And I asked, “How are you responding to the folks who thank you?”
Content alone rarely does it.
There’s a natural tension that arises here, and it’s up to you, as the business owner, to break it.
One side of the tension is that you don’t want to be pushy, especially if you’re a healer or otherwise working with sensitive topics. You don’t want to take advantage of someone in a vulnerable state, and you don’t want to break what can feel like a fragile bubble of trust and care created by your content. When someone reaches out and thanks you, and is vulnerable with you, you just want to say “You’re so welcome!” and leave it at that.
The other side of the tension is that people want to be wanted. Many people are shy, even more so when they are vulnerable, or otherwise feeling stuck or overwhelmed.
Instead of just thank you, break the tension and extend an invitation to these folks. And no, I don’t mean, “Oh, you’re hurting, hire me!”
Invite them into a deeper conversation.
Social media and blog comments are the beginning, not the stopping point.
I have a regular habit in social media, and that’s to connect with folks more deeply. If I have a good interaction with someone on Facebook, for instance, and I think we should be talking, I invite them to a conversation. I’ve made some fantastic business connections, and had folks decide to hire me.
When someone comments on a blog post, or social media post, or especially if they email you privately, and they share how much what you wrote helped them, reach back out with curiosity.
“Thank you so much for telling me what’s going on with you, and how helpful this teaching was- and that sounds like you’ve been in a tough spot! My heart is really with you- these can be such painful situations. Has it continued to be hard for you? Should we have a conversation about whether you could use deeper support?”
Notice I’m not pitching them immediately to hire me. Not only is that pushy, unless you know them well already and it feels natural and appropriate, but it’s also not very effective. Maybe they don’t need or want help.
But without making the invitation, the person in question may never realize that getting help is an option. Seriously. People make all kinds of assumptions. If you don’t make regular invitations, they might think you don’t work with clients at all, or they might assume you’re full and have no room. Or they might assume that what they are struggling with isn’t the right kind of problem to need help.
That last one is a doozy. People try to get by, because they’ve been getting by their whole life. They don’t know that they can get help, that it can get easier. An invitation can breathe hope into their heart, and open up real possibilities for them.
Don’t just publish helpful content. Invite people to the next conversation.
I really want to see you fly!
With love,
Mark Silver, M.Div.
Heart of Business, Inc.
Every act of business can be an act of love.
Understanding the flow of marketing, and other fun things.
It can be hard to guess how marketing and sales flow from the heart into your business. It can be hard, period, understanding the flow of business in a way that feels good.
That’s why I offer The Heart of Your Business. It’s a nine week course that’s intended to help you understand the big picture of what’s needed to make a business like yours successful, as well as the deeper, inner spiritual dimensions, and how the spiritual and the practical intersect.
It can be SO helpful when working on the innumerable details, to actually understand the big picture, and where it all goes.
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Take a Look: The Heart of Your Business 9 week program 2019
